Ban on Chinese apps...

Actually, I think that honestly, I am very late to write on this topic, as this is pretty much the hottest topic around the corner. India has banned TikTok!!! and guess what not just TikTok 58 other Chinese apps such as Cam Scanner, social media platforms like Helo and WeChat, have been ruled out from the google play store and apple store as these apps were suspected a serious threat to country's "sovereignty and security". ShareIT, UC Browser by Alibaba, and a cheap shopping app Club Factory are among the other prominent apps that were taken out from google or apple play store. 

Also, at this position, China is not ready to understand it's the situation at the global level. After Indian govt. banned 59 Chinese apps, China on Thursday indirectly threatened India to go to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against the move taken by India. 

They very precisely and smartly stated this decision of Indian govt. as "selective and discriminatory" and in violation of WTO rules of fair trade practices.

Now even if China decides to approach WTO, where India is a founding member and which China joined only in 2011, it is highly unlikely for them to get any kind relief in this matter. Now I am listing the reasons why WTO is likely to favor India's decision :

• There is no such agreement between the two countries regarding smartphone apps trading. Chinese companies launch their apps in India, not because of any agreement but just because India is a huge free trading market with access to all.

• Rules written by WTO also favor India's position. According to WTO laws, it is the whole and sole decision of the country to take action against companies or any kind of products that seem to be a threat to the country's sovereignty and national security affairs. Now, this is exactly what the Indian government has said against these apps while taking action against them.    

So, now coming to the fact that how large is the user base in India for these banned apps?

Estimates by Sensor Tower show that the video-sharing social networking app, TikTok, for instance, has seen above 600 million downloads in India, while it estimates that the total number of active users of this social networking platform is the highest in the world which is about 200 million. In a report, TikTok said that the ban has cost them a whopping of 6 billion which they told was their biggest revenue from a country. According to the media reports, file sharing app SHAREit has about 400 million users across the country. Alibaba owned the UC browser also has one of the largest user bases in India.

Talking about the inconvenience faced by the users, installed apps will continue to work but the problem is that they will not be able to download the updated version of these apps from Google or apple play store in the future. If it comes to the fact that there is still a serious threat to data security, that could impact the proper or the full functioning of the existing, installed apps.

Users will move forward, they will look towards the alternatives. If you are a true Indian and want a change, want alternatives here is the best video for you to watch...

So it is not at all about any economic loss or anything, it is straight and direct, a very cunning political move that is being played by the government. 

I would love to hear your views in this regard...What do you think?